Courses

Explore the skills needed to be an effective interpretive coach. Coaching others to develop and deliver meaningful interpretation is rewarding because you multiply the opportunities for visitors to understand the relevance and significance of our resources. It gives you the chance to share your passion.

Gain a comprehensive understanding of how to develop an impactful webinar to engage clientele or staff.

In this course, you will develop an understanding of how the health of the environment directly affects human health. We will discuss issues related to the contamination of public lands and the importance of regulating chemicals. We will also explore how environmental health is directly influenced by legal actions.

This course is designed for students and professionals who are interested in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the requirements for providing accessible programs, services, and activities within federal, state, and local recreation agencies.

This course will help you gain an understanding of the different movements in the history of parks, human health and natural environments. It will also provide you the tools to develop personal definitions for the terms “human health” and “natural environments.”

Establish a strong foundation in the basics of interpretation. This certificate program explores the history of interpretation as a profession and provides knowledge in roving, informal interpretation, audience identification and engagement, and interpretive talks.

Explore the role(s) that the parks and recreation profession can have in making connections between the natural world and human health through this self-paced certificate program.

In this course, you will explore the many ways in which individuals have creatively engaged with the natural environment to improve individual and community health.

Do you have a strong background and understanding of interpretation (perhaps in programming) but want to dig deeper? Do you struggle with interpretive media or writing? Are you curious about what exactly ‘dialogic’ interpretation means? If so, this certificate program is for you!

The Intermediate Methods in Interpretation Certificate is entirely web-based and consists of five interpretive courses each culminating with an applied assignment that relates to your organization or site. This course of study provides you with the opportunity to receive feedback from your instructor(s) who review the elements of your portfolio. Additionally, if you apply for and are accepted into the cohort-based program, you will work with a mentor who has considerable experience in the interpretive field who will guide you as you develop your intermediate skills.

Stop! Before you register for this certificate program, are you an NAI member interested in completing it as part of a cohort and working with a mentor? The Eppley Institute and the National Association for Interpretation are recruiting students to participate in a cohort program that will begin in January 2022. Applications are now available. If you are interested in learning more and applying, please click here. If you would like to join NAI, please visit their website.

Explore guided interpretive programs, which can take many forms: walks, hikes, house tours, canoe trips, bus tours, cave tours, just to name a few.

Explore a new approach to interpretation – dialogic interpretation. This course discusses three methods interpreters are using to present dialogic programs to visitors and guests.

The visitor is sovereign. Interpreters may hear this very basic but very important concept many times during the course of their career. What does it mean? It means that each visitor or guest brings a unique level of knowledge, interest, and care each time they visit a site.

Making the Case for Nature & Health: Theoretical Arguments is geared towards park and recreation professionals and students in park, recreation, public health, and related disciplines. No prior knowledge is required to take this course. This course is recommended to be completed fourth in this series.

Learn about relevant considerations for managing insects and disease in wilderness.

This course will allow you to gain an understanding of the different environmental attributes that affect human health. It will also discuss how our personal perceptions of the environment influence our behaviors and interactions with nature.

Build a foundational understanding of facility management practices, particularly as they apply to parks and public lands agencies. The certificate program follows the Asset Management Process, an approach used by the National Park Service.

This course is aimed at improving your skills and learning new techniques that will give you the persuasive edge when you are making a presentation, fielding difficult questions, or presenting complex information.

Gain the skills and confidence needed to interact with visitors informally and learn how to provide them with interpretive opportunities. This course explores three types of contacts: orientation, information, and interpretation.

In this course you will develop an appreciation for the use of science in understanding the complex relationship between human health and natural environments. Topics include the scientific method, best practices for interpreting scientific reports, and identifying possible sources of bias.

In this course, you will explore the concept of sense of place and how it can be used to understand the relationship between human beings and our natural environments. You will also discuss environmental education and its importance in human health outcomes.

Explore how social media can be used interpretively to expand your reach.

On average, 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose. The increase in the availability of opioid drugs is connected with an increase in opioid drug use and opioid related overdoses. Learn more about this epidemic and understand the true impact of opioid abuse.

Gain valuable skills that will help you train impactful interpreters. Interpretive trainers support interpreters in connecting people to parks, museums, zoos, and other places.

Gain a basic understanding of mental health in the context parks and recreation and how to handle a mental health concern if it arises.

Explore important situations or concepts that public agency communicators are likely to encounter in their work.

Learn about the need for communicating with the public and how doing so impacts the success of your agency.

Obtain a background understanding of importance pertaining to the various communication tools available to and used by public agency communicators.

Learn the basic information you need to know before learning more about how to interact with the media.

Explore important situations or concepts that public agency communicators are likely to encounter in their work.

Explore the main elements of a communications plan, as well as how to create successful plans.